Validation of the German Translation of the Revised Trauma Symptom Inventory (TSI-2) to Assess Complex Posttraumatic Stress Symptoms

Abstract

The study aimed to validate the German version of the revised Trauma Symptom Inventory (TSI-2) by John Briere. TSI-2 assesses complex posttraumatic stress symptoms. In order to validate it, further instruments were applied, namely the Adverse Childhood Experience Scale, the CIDI list, the revised Impact of Event-Scale, the interview for complex posttraumatic stress disorder, the revised symptom checklist 90, the dissociative experiences scale, the inventory for interpersonal problems, and the self-efficacy questionnaire. The participants were N=100 traumatized psychiatric in-patients of a psychiatric hospital localized in the German-speaking part of Switzerland. The sample consisted of N=42 women. The study design was longitudinal with 2 assessments. The second assessment took place 4 weeks after the first, in order to investigate retest reliability. Here, N=17 patients participated, of whom N=8 were women. Regarding the results, on average, 3.5 aversive or traumatic experiences during childhood were reported, and 2,1 during adulthood. The diagnosis of (classical) PTSD was estimated at 33%. The results indicate that TSI-2 is both reliable and valid with respect to different criteria: Most scales and subscales of the TSI-2 showed acceptable to very good internal consistencies (α from 0.73 to 0.95) as well as good discriminatory power, and an acceptable retest reliability. Results also indicate good divergent and convergent construct validity as well as good criterion validity. It was not possible to replicate the 4-factor-model presented by the original author of the TSI-2. Instead, in line with the study that validated the German translation of the first version of the TSI-1, a 2-factor-model was found. There were gender differences regarding the TSI-2 scales with higher posttraumatic stress symptoms in women. In conclusion, there is evidence that indicates that the German translation of the TSI-2 is a reliable and valid instrument for the assessment of complex posttraumatic stress symptoms.